What is Croquembouche?
Popularized by a famous pastry chef, Antoine Carème in the late 1700’s, a croquembouche is a french dessert that is made from stacking profiterole or choux pastry in a tower-shaped structure that sits on a strong circular base. Traditionally, a croquembouche is served as wedding cakes, on baptisms, and on first communions.
Croquembouche, meaning “crunch in the mouth” is made from pieces of cream filled puff pastry that are stacked into a conical-shaped tower usually bound by using caramel. It is a decorative confectionery that is designed to be the centerpiece of most events, a type of pièce montée which literally means “mounted pieces”. The croquembouche can be decorated with other confectionery like chocolates, candy, flowers, almonds, spun sugar, etc.
The choux pastry is a versatile piece of confectionery dessert and croquembouche is only one of the few architectural designs and works of art made from these choux pastry.